Hat size reducer



Aug. 27, 1946. l. B. MILLER HAT SIZE REDUCER Filed Feb. 14, 1945 .ZfwzgliMZZ;

Patented Aug. 27 1946 t i V I HAT SIZE REDUCER fIrving B. Miller, Chicago, Ill.,assignr to Herman I J. Blackm an, Chicago, Ill. 7

"Application that 14, 1945, Serial No. 517,744

II It inventionfrelatesto hat: size'redqers of the type which i may be incorporated in a hat either as a permanent part thereof when the hat is 'pr'iginal1y constructed, oigwhich may be readput into 'or removed from a hat; and which enable the changing or the effective sizeof thhtl. V, It has heretofore b en proposed to provide a hat size reducer for use with ahatcf the type that has a sweat band; said reducer 'compns'mg 4 Claims. (01. 2-5133) front orvice versa. It is one of the objects of v the present'invention to provide ahat' size reduc- 'a'fs'trip of substantial thickness'whichhiay-loe'introduced between, the hat sweat bandandjthe rest of thebody 'Qf" thehat, "and which strip is erranged so that itinay'be, folded alongalongitudinal line of fold, which is; in a directionf'cirs cumferentiallyof gthe'l'i'at, thereby to increase the effective 'thicknessjof the sweat band and effect an "increase or diminutionof the head'opcnirig of the hat. It is with such sweat bandsanu' hats that the present invention is concerned.

It is anobject of the present inventionto providea hat size reducer strip which isso constructed that it may be inserted into'the hat in an unfolded position to efiectone hat size reduction, and maybe folded to provide a greater hat sizefreduction, and which strip is so constructed as to'cfiect aminimum distortion of the sweat -beha'd; Ishowa 'foldable hat size reducer'stri consisting oftwo or more pieces of material sewed together by a line of stitching'jwhich constitutes a'hin'ge; ihis is acomparatively'expensive strip,

becauseof" the expense" ofaccurately stitching two "piecesto-gether' bya'hinge stitching. It is an objector thepresen't invention to provide a hat'size reducer'which consists of one integral strip and'whereinthe weakened line of fold is formedby a line ofcut extending longitudinally of the strip almost but not quite entirely through In'reducing'the size of a hat to fit a particular wearer it is sometimesfnecessary to efiecta greatcr'reduction onthe sides of the'hat than at'the reducer illustrated in Figure 2;

or strip wherein by the use of lavsingle stripe; different amount of size r'eductionmay be efiected eat one portion of the hat than at another; T

'It isa still further object of the present'invention" to provide a hat size reducing strip comprising a comparatively thickbody of material held one backing of muslin or other very'thin fabric. The lineof weakening may consist of azcut extending through the thijck layer but notpenetrating the, muslin'backing, which muslin'backing thenl'con'stitutes a'hin'g for the reducer strip.

It is a still further object 'of the present invention to: provide a reducerstrip which may be madeof a synthetic plastic that has a sufficient amount of, resiliency so that it may be shaped by the fingers of the hand to the desired curvature, and has a, sufiicient amount of stiffness so that it will retain its shape but sufiicientlyfiexible'that it will alter its shape to conform to the particular head contour of the wearer of the hat in which the strip has been placed.

The attainment of the above and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing forming a part thereof.

In the drawing: I I Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View through a hat in which the hat size reducer of the present invention has been incorporated; v

V Figure 2 is a perspective view of a hat size'reducer embodying the present invention; Figure 3 is a'transverse sectional view of the Figure 4 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 and illustrating the reducer in its folded condi tion;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view of Fi ure 4;

Figure 6 is a front view of another form of hat size reducer;

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view of the reducer of Figure 6; and I r 1 Figure-8 is aperspective view of still another hat size reducer.

3 the hat by a line of stitching extending along the bottom of the sweat band, the top of said band being free of connection with the hat. Two separate hat size reducers, of the type hereinabove described, are positioned in the hat. One of the reducers, indicated at 1, is at the front of the hat and may extend through approximately 90, more or less, of the hat periphery. The top portion of the hat size reducer strip 1' is folded downwardly, as indicated at 8, so that at this downwardly folded portion the hat size reducer is ofv twice the thickness as it is at the lower portion of the reducer. The hat may, optionally, have an additional hat size reducer strip, indicated at 10, located at the rear of the hat and extend-- ing through 90, more or less, of the hat periphcry. The strip ii! is of the same construction as is the strip! and may be of a greater or lesser length than the strip]. In the case of the strip [0, it is illustrated as unfolded so that the reduction in hat size is greater at the front of the hat than at the back of the hat. The hat size reducer strip maybe located at the front of the hat, the back" of the hat, either side of the hat or any combination of the above, and any one or more of those strips may be folded downwardly, as indicated at 8 in Figure 1, to produce a hat size reduction at a portion of the periphery of the hat opening wherever needed, as determined by the shape of the head of the wearer.

The hat size reducer strip fl is illustrated more fully in Figures 2 and 3. The strip may be formedof any desired material such as, for instance, felt, or synthetic plastic. It is initially a strip of uniform thickness. The top edge 52 is a straight edge whereas the bottom edge I3 is preferably round so that the strip is of maximum width at approximately the center thereof and of the bottom edge I3 is parallel with the top edge l2. The strip 1 is of a length approximately equal to one-quarter, more or less, of the internal circumference of the hat. The edges 15' and it of the strip are skived. I

The strip is provided with a longitudinally extending weakened line of fold ll which extends parallel to the edge I2 and a distance below the top edge l2 approximately equal to one-third of the maximum width of the strip I. The weakened line of fold consists in the removal of some of the material of the strip 1 to form a longitudinally extending groove or depression "3 which is concave in the direction at right angles to the length of the strip, so that the material is of a minimum thickness along the center of the weakened line I! and tapers gradually to the regular thickness of the material in a direction across the face of the strip, as indicated by the lines 29. If desired, and this is optional, there may be a cut 2| extending longitudinally of the strip at the center of the weakened portion l1, said out extending almost but not quite through the entire thickness of the strip.

When the strip '1 of Figures 2 and 3 is folded, as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the edges 26-29 which extend longitudinally of the strip on opposite sides thereof at the fold line form a taper or skived portion. This greatly reduces or entirely eliminates any tendency for the production of an unsightly bulge at the exposed surface of 4 the sweat band due to the interposed hat size reducer strip.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a strip of a shape substantially the same as that of the strip of Figures 2 and 3 and adapted to the same use as the strip of Figures 2 and 3. The strip of Figures 6 and 7 differs from that of Figures 2 and 3 in that here the strip instead of being made of fur felt consists of a ground cork body 23 supported on a thin loose mesh muslin fabric 24 which extends over the entire area of the back of the strip. The muslin backing serves to hold the cork body together notwithstanding the flexing of the same. The line of cut 2| extends almost entirely through the cork body but does not extend to the muslin backing 24, so that the muslin backing acts as a hinge. If the top part 8 of the strip of Figures 6 and '7 is folded backwar'dly, the cork will break along the line of cut 2| but the muslin backing 24 will hold the upper and lower pieces of cork together as an integral strip.

Figure 8 shows the present invention as applied to a strip of appreciably greater length than the length of one-quarter of the hat sweat band. In this instance the hat size reducer strip, indicated by the reference numeral 30, is of a length which may be three-quarters of the circumference of the sweat band, or may be approximately of the circumference of the sweat band. The strip 30 has a weakened line of fold ll similar to and of the same shape' as the weakened line of fold I? of the strip of Figures 2 and 3. In addition, the top part of the strip 39 has a plurality of transversely extending lines of cut, indicated at 3| and 32. These lines of cut extend through the entire thickness of the strip and extend from the top edge down to but not beyond the center of the weakened lien of fold 11. While I have herein shown a strip having two outs 31-32, it is within the purview of the present invention to provide a lesser or greater number of such cuts. As a result of the cuts 3l-32 thet'o'p third of the strip 30 is divided into three parts, indicated by the reference numerals 3t, 31' and 33. Any one or more of the parts 36 through 38 may be folded back to overlie the back of the lower part of the hatsize reducing strip. a

The hat size reducer of Figure 8 may be placed in a hat with the center of the hat size reducer substantially at the front of the hat so that the hat size reducer extends'across the front and both sides of the head of the wearer, it being understood that the reducer is between the sweat band and the body of the hat. This gives one size of hat reduction. If'it is desired to effect a greater reduction at the sides of the hat than at the front of the hat then the parts 36 and 38' are folded back while the part 37 is left in an upstanding position. If it is desired to effect a greater reduction at the front than at the sides. of the hat, then the parts 36 and 38 are not folded back whereas the part 31 is folded back.

As heretofore stated, the strip 36 may be of a length approximately equal to the entire inside circumference of the hat and may have more than two lines of cut, such as indicated at 3l- 32. This willallow for selective reduction of the size of the hat at the front, at the back, at the left hand side and at the righthand side, or any combination of the above.

The hat size reducerof the present invention .may be sold as one continuous strip on a large roll from which the hat fitter cuts off the required length for each specific hat customer. The fitter of the hat may then, optionally, skive the opposite edges of the cut off strip, as indicated at l and It in Figure 2. r v

In compliance with the requirements of the patent statutes I have here shown and described a few preferred embodiments of my invention. It is, however, to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise constructions here shown, the same being merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. What is considered new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A hat size reducer comprising a unitary elongated flexible strip of substantial width and thickness, the strip being provided with a longitudinally extending groove intermediate its longitudinal edges, the groove tapering from its maximum depth to zero depth in a direction across the strip, the groove constituting a weakened zone in the strip to facilitate folding thereof along the deepest part of the groove, the strip having at least one out extending entirely therethrough from one longitudinal edge thereof to the deepest part of the groove to permitfolding of only a fractional part of the length of the strip. v

2. A hat size reducer comprising aunitary elongated flexible strip of substantial width and thickness, the strip being provided'with a longitudinally extending groove intermediate its longitudinal edges, the groove tapering from its maximum depth to zero depth in a direction across the str p, the groove constituting a weakened zone in the strip to facilitate folding thereof along the deepest part of the groove, the strip being also skived at its transverse edges, the strip having at least one cut extending entirelythere- 6 through from one longitudinal edge thereof to the deepest part of the groove to permit folding of only a fractional part of the length of the strip.

3. A hat having a sweat band and a hat size reducer between the band and the body of the hat, said reducer comprising an elongated flexible strip of substantial width and thickness, the strip being provided With a longitudinally extending groove intermediate its longitudinal edges, the groove tapering from its maximum depth to zero depth in a direction across the strip, said strip having a longitudinally extending cut at the deepest part of the groove and extending only partially through the resulting thickness of the strip, the groove and the cut constituting a weakened zone in the strip to facilitate folding thereof along the deepest part of the groove.

4. A hat having a sweat band and a hat size reducer between the band and the body of the hat, said reducer comprising an elongated flexible strip of substantial width and thickness, the strip being provided with a longitudinally extending groove intermediate its longitudinal edges, the groove tapering from its maximum depth to zero depth in a direction across the strip, said strip having a longitudinally extending cut at the deepest part of the groove and extending only partially through the resulting thickness of the strip, the groove and the cut constituting a weakened zone in the strip to facilitate folding thereof along the deepest part of the groove, the strip having at least one cut extending entirely therethrough from one 1ongitudinal edge thereof to the deepest part of the groove to permit folding of only a fractional part of the length of the strip.

IRVING B. MILLER. 

